Rahul Gandhi writes to Congress chief ministers, seeks resolution in support of Women's Reservation Bill

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday wrote letters to the chief ministers of the states, governed by the grand-old party, asking for a resolution calling on the Centre to pass the Women's Reservation Bill. The proposed resolution seeks one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies. Earlier Gandhi dashed a letter to PM Narendra Modi asking him to "demonstrate his commitment to the cause of women", and ensure the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill during the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament.

"In order to affirm our support to the passage of the Bill, it would be expedient for the state assembly to pass a resolution calling for the reservation of one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and legislative assembly for women, in the next session," Gandhi wrote in his letter to the chief ministers of Congress-governed states.

Congress President @RahulGandhi writes to Punjab Chief Minister @capt_amarinder urging him to pass a resolution in the Punjab Legislative Assembly calling on the Central Government to enact the Women's Reservation Bill. pic.twitter.com/2ELUngqR4J

— Congress (@INCIndia) December 9, 2018

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The Gandhi scion further said that the Congress and several other parties have called on the prime minister to ensure the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill, adding that the leadership role taken by women after the 73rd and 73th constitutional amendments have cleared the doubts on the ability of women to affect change.

The Congress chief also referred to India's ranks in terms of the percentage of women in parliament, saying that the situation is "even worse in state assemblies". India ranks 148 out of 193 countries in terms of the percentage of women in parliament.

The legislative assemblies of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh have already taken a lead and passed a resolution calling on the central government to enact the women's reservation bill.

In 2010, the Rajya Sabha passed the 108th constitutional amendment bill, but it lapsed after the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha in 2014.

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Gandhi's letter comes just days before the commencement of the Winter Session of Parliament, which is scheduled to begin on December 11, 2018.